BOK Financial Buys Kansas Firm To Expand Its Wealth Management Footprint

Eliane Chavagnon

3 October 2013

Tulsa, OK-headquartered BOK Financial Corporation is to acquire GTRUST Financial Corporation, a Topeka, KS-based independent trust and asset management company, in a move that will add $600 million in assets to its wealth management platform. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Steve Bradshaw, senior executive vice president for BOK Financial, said that wealth management is an important growth business and the firm is thus looking to build out that division going forward.

GTRUST provides financial services including asset and risk management, tax planning, fee-only financial planning, debt management, estate planning and charitable/social capital strategy.

In August last year, BOK acquired The Milestone Group, a Denver, CO-based RIA which manages $1.3 billion in equity and fixed income investments.

“Milestone has seen its discretionary assets expand by 19 per cent in just over a year as part of our company,” said Bradshaw. “Our goal is to replicate that success with GTRUST and continue to build our wealth management platform going forward.”

GTRUST has a team of 30 trust and investment professionals in Topeka, Wichita, Marysville, Larned and Overland Park, KS. Current GTRUST client teams will remain at their current firm continue to serve their clients.